Telstra's pay reduction insults sacked workers

TELSTRA has given sacked workers a $10,000 pay cut in their final months on the job, a union says.

The communications giant announced 650 jobs would go in August, with the work to be sent to the Philippines.

But in an extra insult to workers about to lose their jobs, they were downgraded by two pay bands.

The Burwood complaints centre closes for the last time tomorrow, with at least 81 jobs gone. But workers say they won't be able to get a similar job because their final pay grade did not reflect the skills on their resume.

Telstra disputed the pay claim, saying the new wages offered a higher base pay but no incentives.

The Communications Workers Union is planning to take Telstra to the Magistrate's Court to fight for back pay, as well as higher redundancy pay.

"It's a fairly significant amount of money. We think the way they have behaved is atrocious," CWU national president Len Cooper said.

"This is a cost-cutting exercise but what they have done at the same time is announced the downgrading from a Band 7 to a Band 5."

The technical staff, who handle complaints about customers' phone and internet connections, will also get a redundancy payout based on the revised wages.

Telstra made the pay cut when the agreements of workers who were on the controversial AWA contracts expired last year.

They were offered work at a Band 5 level, paying $69,000, instead of a Band 7, which pays $79,000 a year when incentives are added.

A fired worker told the Herald Sun the pay cut was "dodgy" and would hurt their chances of finding a new job.

"Now when I'm applying for a job, people say this is too technical for you it's a band 7, you were only on a band 5," he said. "It's not fair, a lot of us will be unable to swap jobs."

Telstra spokesman Scott Whiffin said workers were given a higher base pay under the new pay scheme.

"Some employees chose at their own volition to move from an AWA to the Telstra Enterprise Agreement, which has a higher base pay than the AWA but no incentive structure," he said.